Three arrested over illegal tip near national park

Three people have been arrested after 1,200 tonnes of waste were dumped near a national park.

The Environment Agency said it was treating the dumping at Stockton, Norfolk, close to the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, as a "waste crime".

Items dumped include household and commercial waste and recycling that appears to have been collected more than 100 miles (160km) away by Central Bedfordshire Council.

Landowner Peter Dive, who is legally responsible for clearing the site, described it as "almost a ticking timebomb" and said he feared the clean-up costs would bankrupt him.

Dive, 40, has owned the four-acre (1.6-hectare) site, just off the A143, since 2021.

Describing it as "scrubland", he said he wanted to build an eco-house there and was in discussion with South Norfolk Council about obtaining planning permission.

The dumping is believed to have taken place last May, when Dive said he was working on another renovation project in Wales.

He said it was "absolutely devastating" to see the waste when he returned to the site after two weeks away.

It is about a mile (1.5km) from the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, Britain's largest protected wetland.

"It's almost a ticking time bomb. If it stays in there too long, it's going to break down and start affecting the water," he said.

Dive estimated cleaning up the site would cost between £400,000 and £500,000, leaving him "essentially bankrupt".

"Everything I have worked for... has been wrecked," he said.

He said he did not know what more he could do to protect the land.

He had put CCTV and gates on the site, he said, but claimed that when the council found out, its planning department told him to take themdown.

A spokesperson for South Norfolk Council said it had not issued enforcement notices and had worked with the landowner to ensure land activity met planning requirements.

Dive said he had found letters among the waste, featuring the names and addresses for people in Bedfordshire.

The BBC has seen those letters and contacted the addressees, all of whom said they had thrown them away in their council recycling bins.

Joshua Ballard, 34, said he remembered the letter to him that was found as it was for a medical appointment.

He said he had "definitely" put it in the recycling bin.

"I pay council tax... for these types of things to be dealt with officially and properly. So, yeah, it's not great," he said.

A Central Bedfordshire Council spokesperson said household waste it collected was "managed through licensed contractors and subject to strict regulatory controls and due diligence processes".

It added: "The Environment Agency is conducting a criminal investigation into the illegal deposit of waste on the border of Norfolk and Suffolk, and Central Bedfordshire Council is not subject to the Environment Agency's investigation.

"It is inappropriate to comment further while that investigation is ongoing," they said.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said an estimated 1,200 tonnes of mixed household, commercial and industrial waste had been dumped and buried at the site.

They said the agency "quickly stopped" the dumping, and that three people had been arrested, interviewed and released under investigation.

The investigation was ongoing "with several lines of inquiry being pursued", they added.

The agency said such illegal activity had been increasing, particularly over the last two years, and advised landowners to regularly check their property and report any dumping immediately.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs said: "Waste crime is a scourge on local communities, and we understand how distressing and costly it can be for farmers and landowners.

"We are committed to stamping out illegal waste dumping... boosting the Environment Agency's enforcement capacity, with more officers, increased funding, and tougher sentences for those who break the law," they said.

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